


i almost do

by RottenKidNextDoor (PortalofWords)



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Angst, Emotionally Constipated Lin Beifong, F/F, Reunion, kya comes back, lin has a complicated relationship with toph, post tenzin break-up, suyin and lin tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:22:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29637369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PortalofWords/pseuds/RottenKidNextDoor
Summary: “Why are you avoiding me?”It was the one question Lin didn't want to answer.orKya returns to Republic City after a few years of traveling, and Lin can't seem to find it in herself to reach out.
Relationships: Lin Beifong/Kya II
Comments: 3
Kudos: 84





	i almost do

**Author's Note:**

> hi all! i've been writing a lot of kyalin in my spare time, and i've (finally) made it around to posting this one-shot! 
> 
> enjoy!

“Tenzin, I’m a very busy woman. Whatever it is, I’m sure Pema can help you.” 

Lin didn’t have time for whatever games her ex-boyfriend wanted to play. It had been his choice to end things with her. His choice to leave her for a younger, prettier, softer woman. If he was regretting that now - 

“It’s not about Pema,” he insisted doggedly, following her back to her desk. “It’s about my sister!” 

At the mention of Kya, Lin stopped in her tracks, nearly dropping the case files she was clutching. She managed to gather herself just in time, tone clipped and short. “What about her?”

“She’s coming home.” 

Another stab of... Surprise? Longing? Fear? Lin hated not knowing, and she pursed her lips. “Sounds like a lovely family affair.” She opened and closed desk drawers, trying to seem busy. 

Tenzin sighed heavily, rubbing his head. “It would mean a lot if you were there. I know you two were close before she left, and -” 

“And what?” Lin glared at him, pushing her dark hair out of her face. “She left. We’re not close anymore. That’s all there is to it.” 

“So you won’t come?” 

“What do you want from me?” Lin shook her head. “To eat at dinner with you and Pema and Bumi? To pretend we’re all just kids again? No thanks.” 

Tenzin looked disappointed, but backed off nonetheless. He’d been friends with her long enough to know that when she put her foot down, there was no picking it back up. Her stubborn reputation hadn’t changed much over the years. 

As he left the station, she watched him go - half-regretting her answer already. She hadn’t seen Kya in a long time, but that didn’t mean she never wondered about what it might be like to talk to her again. Or even hug her. Roll her eyes at her dumb jokes like she used to do. 

Lin almost called after Tenzin, to change her mind and assure him that, yes, she would be there - if only for Kya - but she didn’t. 

She kept her mouth shut and didn’t say a word. 

/// 

Lin didn’t let herself think much about Kya over the next week. 

During the day, threw herself into her work - closing as many new cases as she could and filing away the reports as neatly as possible. With the weight of her mom’s legacy on her shoulders, Lin often found herself under the intense scrutiny of the other officers - watching her to see if she could be as great, if she deserved to wear the name “Beifong” as proudly as Toph had. It wasn’t always comfortable, but at least the pressure could be counted on as motivation.

At night, though, Lin had more time. Too much time. 

And ever since Tenzin had mentioned Kya’s arrival, Lin hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. 

_I’m a fool_ , she thought miserably, staring out the darkened window at Republic City. 

She’d thought she was protecting herself. Choosing the safer option. And now she just looked stupid. 

Lin wondered if Kya would stay on Air Temple Island for a while or whether this visit was only a short one. Maybe she’d already left again, ready to embark on another world travel with some other girl on her arm. 

_“Come with me,”_ Kya’s voice still whispered in her ear. _“We could go. We could be happy.”_

Apparently, happiness wasn’t in Lin’s future. 

/// 

The first time Lin saw Kya, the other woman was standing outside The Water Tribe Cultural Center and laughing with a couple people Lin didn’t recognize. 

Lin stopped walking immediately. Any second now, Kya would notice her, since her shiny uniform didn’t exactly make for good camouflage. 

Still, she wavered for some reason - watching. 

_Kya looks good_ , she thought before she could stop herself.

Kya’s hair had been pulled back, and even from a distance, her blue eyes looked brighter and more eager than they had been in awhile. The happiness on her face practically outshone the sun. She looked so different from the heartbroken, angry Kya that had been burned into Lin’s brain. 

Just as Lin decided that maybe she could walk past without notice, Kya’s gaze shifted past her friends and landed directly on her. Kya’s smile faded somewhat as she stared, and Lin felt her mouth go dry. 

_Not here_ , came the thought. _I won’t do this here._

And before Kya could call out or run after her or do something else equally as stupid, Lin had turned and fled back the way she’d come. 

_Running away_ , the voice in her mind said scornfully. _You picked coward’s path, Beifong._

That was almost enough to make her turn back around, but at the thought of those eyes staring right through her, gazing into her soul, she hardened her heart and retreated in sullen silence. 

/// 

“Why are you avoiding me?” 

A cold chill ran down Lin’s spine. After weeks of steering clear of Kya, here she was on Lin’s doorstep - wet from the rain and looking oh-so-familiar. 

Lin dodged the question by asking one of her own, leaning on the door as she held it open. “Why are you here?”

Kya put her hands on her hips. “Answer me first.” 

“Why should I?” Lin didn’t want to answer Kya. She didn’t want to talk to Kya about what had gone down between them when she’d left or why things couldn’t just go back to normal now that she was back. 

“Stop asking questions!” 

“You’re the one who showed up to interrogate me!” 

An icy silence fell between them, punctuated by the pattering of the rain. Kya would be soaked if she stayed outside for much longer. Lin caved slightly, stepped back in the doorway to allow the other woman to find some shelter. 

Kya accepted, standing in the doorway - trying not to get too close to Lin. It didn’t matter, though. The space was small, and Lin felt her heart rate pick up speed. 

“I don’t want you here,” Lin said coldly, wanting to back away. 

_“Why?”_

“Because!” Lin grit her teeth, her fists clenching. “You weren’t here, Kya! You don’t get to just… come waltzing back in now! You ran away! You missed everything!” 

“I ran away?” Kya’s eyes were wide. “I wanted you to come with me! You’re the one who said you couldn’t. Because you loved my brother, not me. Because Tenzin was the better option. Because he could provide you with stability! You told me I was silly for wanting to leave Republic City. That I was just… shying away from responsibility!” 

“Yeah, well, then your brother left me for Pema, so maybe I am the stick-in-the-mud that everyone thinks I am!” Lin really, really didn’t want to talk about this. She wanted Kya to leave. Maybe she could get down to the office and pick up some case files or paperwork or anything that would take her mind off of this conversation. 

Kya’s face softened, if only for a moment. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out between you two, I am.” 

“It’s fine.” Lin turned away. “I’m fine.” 

“You don’t have to be.” 

“Is that what you wanted?” Lin dug her nails into her hand to keep her voice from breaking. “To come over and play hero? To swoop in and clean up your brother’s mess?” 

“You’re not a mess!” Kya sounded genuine, but Lin knew better. 

“I can tell when you’re lying.” 

As Lin prepared to curl in on herself, to shut everyone out just like she always did, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Kya held it there, gently, until Lin turned back to her - face honest and raw. 

“I don’t think you’re a mess,” she repeated slowly. “I think you’re… hurting.” 

And Lin couldn’t even assign blame for that one; her pain was entirely her own fault. Maybe it was what she deserved. “Go home, Kya. You shouldn’t be here.” 

“I heard about Su.” 

Lin’s whole body stiffened and the scar on her cheek - healing, but still red - burned brighter. “Then you know she’s my mother’s favorite after all. At least now I know I wasn’t crazy for thinking that when we were younger.” 

Kya didn’t say anything for a few moments, her eyes flicking across Lin’s face and the new scar. “Did she hurt you?” 

For some reason, Lin had a feeling she wasn’t talking about the scar. She played dumb. “It’ll heal.” 

“I can’t believe your mother let her off. It’s not fair.” 

Pausing, Lin opened and shut her mouth - raising her eyes to stare right at Kya’s. She’d heard a lot of things about her sister and mother lately from various people who’d managed to figure out what had gone down between them, but all of them had been weak defenses of their actions. 

_“She’s doing the best she can.”_

_“Suyin will grow out of it.”_

_“This shouldn’t ruin her life; at least she gets a second chance now!”_

When was Lin going to get _her_ second chance? When was their mother going to swoop in and make _her_ life all better? Erase all _her_ wrongdoings? 

Kya… Kya hadn’t said any of those things, though. She’d taken Lin’s side. Just like she always had, as long as Lin had known her. 

“When you left,” Lin said quietly. “I had no one. You’re the first person who’s taken my side on this. Not many people know, of course. My mother tore up my arrest form - didn’t want anyone to know that Su had even been in trouble in the first place. But people speculate. And there were witnesses. I told Tenzin in confidence, but Bumi might’ve overheard, and you know how he is about secrets, so -” 

“I’m sure you made a great arrest, Lin. You’re good at your job.” 

Lin’s cheeks felt hot. “It wasn’t anything special. Just… a chase. I used my metal bending, but that came back to bite me in the ass, clearly.” She gestured to her cheek. 

Kya nodded, moving the tiniest bit closer. Lin swallowed hard. There was a new energy between them - or rather, more like their _old_ energy. Before the tension and the weirdness and the tears. 

“Did you and your girlfriend have a nice time?” Lin asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She wanted so badly to reach out and pull Kya towards her, but that lingering part of the equation kept her from doing it in good faith. 

“She’s a good person,” Kya said quietly. “But… it didn’t work out. That’s why I came back.” She reached a hand out to cup Lin’s cheek. “I couldn’t be out there with her. Not when I was… in love with someone else.” 

There were a hundred reasons why Lin shouldn't kiss Kya. Why she shouldn't surge forward and pull this woman into her arms and never let her go. She couldn't risk saying goodbye again. She couldn't risk them ending terribly or Kya getting sick of putting up with her or someone better coming along.

But for once in her life, Lin Beifong didn't want to be pragmatic. And when they kissed, Lin’s first thought was why the hell it had taken her so long to do it. Kissing Kya was better than anything else she’d ever done. 

“Tell me this,” Kya whispered against her lips. “Am I a better kisser than Tenzin?” 

“Don’t you dare ruin this by mentioning your brother to me,” Lin replied, half-joking, before their lips met again. 

And again. 

And again. 

With her foot, Lin managed to kick the door closed, pulling Kya further into the house. This was long overdue, she knew. 

They were making up for lost time.  
  


**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos are always appreciated! 
> 
> i have writing commission slots open! if you enjoy my writing and want to commission a piece, email me @/ madswritingcommissions@gmail.com or send me a message on tumblr @/somethingwritey!


End file.
